/ Eddie & Eric

by Anokhi Admin

Eddie & Eric

May 16, 2013

Eric Del Monaco and Eddie Malter, the L’Oréal hair and makeup team, work behind the scenes year after year at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week. Hosted by the Fashion Design Council of Canada, LGFW completed its 19th season last fall. The week-long event showcases the latest in Canadian designer collections to fashion industry professionals, journalists and style enthusiasts alike.

Both Eric and and Eddie commanded a team of 20 hair stylists and 20 makeup artists backstage for the event. As experts in their trade, the two have been featured on Project Runway Canada and Canadian Idol. The team will also proudly host a portrait lounge in partnership with L’Oréal for the upcoming 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

When Eric isn’t backstage under a mist of Ellnett hairspray, he’s at home in Toronto doing the hair of women like you and me at Del Monaco Hair Studio (located on Richmond Street). Meanwhile, when Eddie is off duty he calls Montreal home, although he’s a native of France, which is where his journey with L’Oréal began. I got the chance to slip backstage in between shows for a quick chat with the both of them.

Eric Del Monaco

A.D: How would you describe your style as a hair artist?

E.D.M: I like to consider myself not just in hairstyling but with fashion – generally trendy and up-to-date, but within a classic scope. I love things that are current and up-to-date and trendy, but I always like that sort of classic frame.

A.D: So keeping the looks timeless in a way?

E.D.M: Exactly; that’s a good way to put it.

A.D: Nice. Since you’ve been doing Fashion Week for a few years, do you find you draw inspiration across years or is it based on trends when you’re deciding on looks?

E.D.M: I draw inspiration from everything and the best way to get inspiration is by listening. Listening to different people, different conversations and different feelings. I’ve drawn so much inspiration from the beginning and I’m still drawing inspiration now. Even when we do the simplest of looks, I still get that little bit of butterfly in my stomach. I guess that means I’m still excited about it. I think the day you lose interest in something and the moment you stop feeling the excitement in anything means it’s time to move onto something else.

A.D: When you put together a look for one of the shows, for example Joe Fresh, how do you consult with a designer to find it?

E.D.M: What we do is, two to three weeks prior to Fashion Week, we pay a visit to all the designers and we look at their line and we talk about different inspirations and then we come up with a look that suits their inspiration and the line. Then we sketch it out. We sketch out the makeup and the hair look and then the day of the show we open that page of our book. I usually do a prototype first and then everyone follows.

A.D: What are some hair trends that you think would be good for readers of ANOKHI Magazine for spring?

E.D.M: Funny enough, I have my own salon here in Toronto and I have quite a lot of South Asian clients. I LOVE doing their hair!! The more daring ones I find are quite open to anything I do. And sometimes the hairstyle is only as good as the hair. A lot of my South Asian clients they have this gorgeous, thick, beautiful hair and if you put an iron to it or rollers in it they just look like they just stepped out of Hollywood or Bollywood – they’re gorgeous, gorgeous women. I know a lot of South Asian women prefer to have longer hair but the ones who do cut it short or have interesting haircuts – with their facial features and skin tone – they just look stunning, absolutely stunning.

Eddie Malter

A.D: When did you begin working with L’Oréal?

E.M: Oh, I began 20 years ago. We celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Voluminous brand last year and I just noticed then that it was my 20th anniversary with L’Oréal Paris too. I worked 10 years in Paris and it was my 10th year anniversary last year here in Canada.

A.D: So it’s been a decade in each continent, exciting. You’ve been the artistic director for Fashion Week before in Toronto for many years. When you’re deciding on the different beauty looks, how do you and the designer decide what fits best?

EM: I meet them before. I come here one month before and I ask them what their inspirations are. When they explain to me their ideas, and their collection and their inspiration, I always have some images that come to my mind, so I draw sketches for them and they say, “Oh I could do that.” We give our ideas and then we establish the looks together.

A.D: When you are deciding on the looks, in terms of figuring out the colour palette, is that something you consult with the designer?

E.M: Yes, we go with the line (materials and textures), the fashion trends, the makeup trends, colour trends – we consider everything.

A.D: From the products that are from spring from L’Oréal what is your favourite product you’ve been using this week at LG Fashion Week that you feel is a must-have?

E.M: This is very difficult because I’m a makeup artist, so I like everything. I’m crazy about mascara, so I love our Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara. Amazing, amazing! The brush is amazing, the texture of the mascara… I love it! All the women who try it out love it. I like our Infallible Eye Shadow too because it’s shiny – you can go very shiny and crazy on the eye. Or, if you want to just slightly brighten the eyes, it’s also perfect. I think it will be very trendy for the spring.

A.D: What was your favourite look from the looks you’ve created this week so far?

E.M: Hmm, they’re all different, so I don’t think I have one specifically. I like everything because it’s the beauty of my art you know. It’s going to live for the show and then it all disappears. That’s the beauty of my art – I create, it disappears and that’s it.

BY AMANPREET DHAMI / PUBLISHED IN THE BEAUTY ISSUE, SPRING 2012